


Happy Birthday, Mermista!

by alysurr



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Party, Child Abandonment, F/M, Family Drama, Fire, Fuck mercia, Just one big ol Fire., Meet-Cute, Mermista Connects to the Pearl for the First Time, Murder Mystery, all my homies hate mercia, the worst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alysurr/pseuds/alysurr
Summary: A glimpse at a few of Mermista’s birthdays over the years. A character study through her relationships with her family, her found family, and the family she makes with Sea Hawk.
Relationships: Mermista & Perfuma (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 24





	1. Six

“Oh! Oh! Can the frosting be blue?” It’s Mermista’s sixth birthday and all she wants to do is make a cake for her dad and surprise him with it. She was standing on a chair in the kitchen, wearing an apron and holding a wooden spoon, watching her mom mix up vanilla icing.

“Of course, darling. Close your eyes so I can do the magic!” Mermista squeezed her eyes shut tightly, knowing that if she didn’t the magic wouldn’t work. Her mother said a few words and she heard the sound of the spoon hitting the sides of the bowl as she stirred, and Mermista began to fidget, bouncing on her heels. 

“Can I open them, mama?” She asked excitedly, now covering her eyes with her hands because she’s afraid she’ll accidentally ruin it by opening them too soon. 

“Just a few… more… seconds… okay, open!” 

“Wow!” Mermista gasped as she opened her eyes, taking in the sight of the new frosting. It had gone from a stark white to a brilliant shade of blue, the same shade as the ocean just outside the window. “Will I really be able to do that when I get older, mama?” 

“You sure will, my darling,” her mother said brightly, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the head. “You will be able to do anything you put your mind to!”

The oven beeped, signalling the cake was finished baking. 

“I wanna help ice it!” Mermista shouted. 

“And you can, sweetie, we just have to let it cool, first. Think you can wait for that?” 

“Yeah!”

A short while later, Mermista was trailing her mother up the stairs to her dad’s study. “I can carry it in, right?” She pleaded. 

“Yes, my love, but remember, we agreed I can carry it to the door so we don’t drop it, didn’t we?”

“Uh-huh! I just don’t want you to forget, mama.” 

“I won’t, love.”

“You wanna know why I wanted to make daddy a cake today, mama?”

“Why’s that, darling?”

“‘Cause cake makes me happy, so maybe it will make Daddy happy, too!”

Thalassa looked down at her daughter, feeling so warm from the way she was beaming right next to her. She was still wearing her birthday tiara from breakfast. When they got to the door, she carefully handed the cake over to Mermista, who made sure to stand very still like they practiced in the kitchen. “Remember to walk like a princess, okay sweetie?” 

“I will!” 

Her mom opened the ornate door, stepping aside so that Mermista could walk into the office. She was never allowed in the office without permission, so she felt very proud and important to walk in there today, holding the cake they had made. 

“Mercia, darling, Mermista wants to give you something,” Thalassa announced. 

Her dad didn’t even look up from what he was working on. 

“Daddy! I made you a cake!” Mermista tried to hoist it up on his desk, but wasn’t quite tall enough. Thalassa came to the rescue, helping her lift it up and place it in front of Mercia with no casualties. 

“What is that?” Mercia growled. 

“Mermista wanted to make you a cake, darling. It’s all she wanted to do for her birthday today,” Thalassa said in a harsh voice Mermista had never heard from her mother before. 

“We made it your favorite color, daddy!” Mermista was standing on her toes to see him over the desk. 

“I don’t have time for this,” Mercia said, shaking his head. “Please take this and go.”

“Will you please try it, daddy?” 

“I said  _ GO _ !” Mercia yelled, slamming his fist onto the table. 

“Mercia!” Her mother shouted back, but Mermista was already running out of the room, terrified. 

She found one of her favorite hiding spaces in the castle, curled up into a ball and cried. 


	2. Nine

“Are you ready, darling?” Mermista’s mom asked. They were standing at the front of the throne room, which was packed with people from their own family as well as several other royal families. Nine was a special milestone for Princesses--this was the year she’d connect to the Pearl for the very first time and gain her powers. 

Mermista was trying to keep a straight face, she was a Princess, after all, and needed to act like one. But it was hard, okay? She’d been wanting to connect to the Pearl ever since she was old enough to want anything. She’d read everything she could about the Pearl, it’s history, and her soon-to-be powers in the library over the past three months. If it wasn’t so high up from the ground, she probably would have snuck out and touched it in the middle of the night while nobody was watching a long time ago.

That’s probably why it was so high off the ground, in retrospect. 

“I’m ready,” Mermista said, bracing herself. Her mother waved a hand and guided the water from a nearby pool to surround Mermista’s feet. It soon became a small whirlpool that lifted Mermista to the Pearl. 

She’d been staring at it for years, but she had never been this close to it. It was several stories off the ground, hanging over the throne like a floating crown. It was massive, and beautiful. After a moment of staring at it in awe, she placed both hands on the runestone just as she’d practiced with her mom the night before. She closed her eyes, and for a moment nothing happened. 

Was she doing it wrong? Was she not able to connect to it for some reason? Was she… not actually a Princess after all?

The Pearl suddenly became very warm, and the warmth flowed into her palms, up her arms and through the rest of her body. Oh. So this was what magic felt like. She opened her eyes to see a blue aura surrounding the Pearl, and a big grin spread across her face as she realized it was surrounding her as well. 

Her mother lowered her down, catching Mermista in her arms. They both beamed at each other, because their mutual connection to the Pearl was the closest and most special bond they could ever share as mother and daughter. 

“Ready to try it out?”

Mermista nodded, and her mother set her gently onto her feet. Mermista held out a hand, mirroring her mother’s movements, and together they pulled a stream of water from pools on opposite sides of the throne, meeting in the middle. Mermista’s was thinner, but she knew she’d get there. They deposited them back into the opposite pools, and immediately the guests they stood in front of broke into applause. 

Mermista stepped behind her mom, feeling her face grow hot with all of the attention on her. Her mom, knowing exactly how her daughter was feeling at the moment, pulled her into a hug. “You’re doing great, honey.”

“Thanks, mom,” Mermista said into her mom’s chest. 

Dinner followed the celebration, and just before they sat down her father kneeled next to her. “I’m very proud of you for how you’re doing tonight, Mermista. Do you remember what we discussed last night?”

“Yes, daddy. Don’t use my powers at the dinner table.”

“Very good.” 

Mermista made sure that she put her mom between them when they sat down at the table. 

Dinner was slow, and boring. Her dad did a very long toast, everyone sang happy birthday, and she knew she had a whole pile of presents waiting for her to open later. But there was a lot of time to wait between dinner and dessert, while everyone else finished eating and chatting. Her favorite butler smiled widely at her as he filled up her water glass.

“Thank you,” she said as she returned the smile. She took a sip of the water, watching her dad out of the corner of her eye. He was deep in conversation with someone on the other side of the table, probably talking about something boring. Her mom excused herself to the restroom a few minutes ago. 

It wouldn’t hurt to just play with the water a little bit, right? Magic. At her fingertips. Having her mermaid tail and being able to breathe underwater and talk to whales was one thing. This was… magical!

Mermista kept her palm resting against the table to see what she could do with her fingertips. Little ripples began to form in the water, then it began to move back and forth like a gentle wave with the motion of her finger. She smiled. Glanced over at her dad again. He still wasn’t looking. 

Maybe she could just lift the water a little. Come on, come on, water, work with me, here--it began to rise up, and her smile got wider. 

“Mermista! What are you doing!?” Her father’s sudden outburst spooked her, and she yelped as she jerked her hand back. The water dropped, but the pressure from her swift movement caused the glass to shatter. She watched a shard hit her dad’s cheek, cutting it, in slow motion. 

She covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide and horrified. “I’m so sorry, daddy!” She exclaimed. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it still bled. He moved a hand to his cheek and wiped it, staring at the blood on his fingertips.

“What did I tell you, Mermista!?” He growled at her, then grabbed her arm and pulled her up out of her chair. The whole room was silent. “You never listen! Look at this mess!”

“I’m sorry!” Mermista blinked back tears. She wasn’t going to cry. She was too big to cry, and definitely not in front of all of these people, all of these strangers.

“Go to your room!” Mercia released her arm, and she ran out of the dining hall. She ran past her mom as she returned from the bathroom, and kept running even when her name was called. It was just past sunset, and the sky was still streaked with a little bit of pink and purple as she ran across the lawn and under the broken part of the fence. 

The shoes she wore weren’t made to be worn outside, they had very thin soles and the precipitation on the grass penetrated them easily as she ran through it. She barely registered the rocks and gravel on the road digging into the soles of her feet through them. Mermista didn’t even know where she was running, she just ran. 

Maybe, maybe the docks or something? She could go for a swim, go to that cave her mom showed her? That way only her mom’s side of the family could come find her. Her dad couldn’t get to her there. Why did he have to be so mean? She was just trying out her powers! Why was he so scary and angry all the time? 

But if her mom found her, she’d eventually just make her go back home and she didn’t want that right now. 

Mermista was in town now, dodging and ducking around people walking. She had never been to town on her own before, definitely not at night, and she didn’t really know where she was now. Her lungs were starting to burn. She slowed down, taking in the sights and sounds and smells. Fresh baked bread, a guy playing an instrument on the corner, kids playing a game in an empty alleyway. 

Mermista was so busy watching everything in awe that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and her foot caught the edge of a curb. She stumbled, falling right to her hands and knees. 

“Ow,” she muttered as she scrambled back to her feet. She needed a moment to catch her breath, her mom would say that the wind had been knocked right out of her. Mermista’s knee was stinging and her ankle throbbing. People had stopped to gawk at her. How embarrassing!

She shoved her way through a couple who had stopped in her path to watch her, ignoring their protests as she started running again. 

“Hey, hey girl! Wait up!”

Someone called after her—a younger voice, she thought—but she didn’t look back as she continued to run, this time towards a place she didn’t think her mom would find her, at least not right away. Her mom always eventually found her, like it was a sixth sense she had. 

“Hey! Can’t you hear me? Wait up!” 

Really? This kid wasn’t letting up. Mermista glanced over her shoulder—it was a boy, maybe around her age, maybe a little older. Why was he following her?! She didn’t think she could keep up this pace much longer, her ankle was really starting to hurt. 

“Leave me alone!” She yelled over her shoulder. “Or else!” The second part was supposed to sound menacing, but she was out of breath and it was kind of squeaky.

“Just wait a second!” He sounded kind of desperate. Mermista didn’t have a lot of experience with boys her age—and the ones she did have experience with were dumb jerks who wouldn’t let her play with them because she was a girl. 

Maybe she could get rid of him some other way. Ah-ha! There was a fountain just up ahead. And in that fountain? Water! And she could manipulate it now! 

She held out her hand as she got closer to it, running as fast as her legs could take her now. As soon as she felt the connection to it she tried the same thing she had done earlier with her mom—pulling out a tendril of water, she turned on her heel and tried to use it like a rope. But she overdid it, and ended up taking half of the contents of the fountain and knocking him over onto his back with a small wave. 

He got up quickly, confused and shaking his head like he was trying to shake off the feeling. “What the—?” He looked around. “Did you do that?” 

“Yes!” Mermista said. “So don’t come any closer or I-I’ll do it again!” 

Her threat didn’t sound very intimidating. He got to his feet, holding his hands up. He had something in one of them, between his fingers, but she couldn’t tell what it was. 

He stepped forward. Mermista successfully managed to make a rope this time, and just as he opened his mouth to speak managed to wrap it around his ankle and yank him down again. 

“I said don’t come any closer!” She shouted. 

He sat up again, rubbing his head but not getting to his feet this time. “I just—“ he sputtered. “Can you LISTEN!?” 

“I can listen from over here!” Mermista said, crossing her arms. 

“Okay, okay,” the boy said. He held out a hand to her, palm up. Whatever he was holding sparkled in the light. “You dropped this when you fell! I was just trying to give it back to you.” 

Mermista approached him slowly. “Don’t try anything funny,” she warned. 

“I won’t,” he assured her. He looked scared as he looked over her. “You’re bleeding,” he said as she got a little closer. Mermista looked down. He was right—her knee was bleeding under a tear in her legging. She hadn’t even felt it before, but now realized how much it stung. 

“I fell,” she said dumbly, taking some of the water she’d spread across the ground and using it to rinse off her knee. This was already becoming very useful. 

“I know. I saw. Here.” He stood up slowly, still holding out his palm. As soon as Mermista saw what she was holding she reached up to her earlobes to find one of them bare. 

“My earring! My mom woulda killed me if I lost that! Thank you!” She took it from him and quickly put it back in her ear. The boy was standing there still, watching her with wide eyes. Mermista felt embarrassed and ashamed. “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” she added. “I was just scared and didn’t know why you were chasing me.”

“You’re the princess!” He blurted out. 

“Yeah,” Mermista said, reaching up to adjust the sapphire and pearl adorned circlet on her forehead almost on instinct. It was still a little too big on her, and she only wore it for special events. 

“Why are you out here?” He asked. “I thought you never left the castle?” 

“I—I ran away,” Mermista admitted. Then she laughed. “Of course I leave the castle sometimes! What did you think, they kept me locked up in a tower like a fairy tail?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. Why’d you run away?”

Mermista frowned, almost forgetting the fight with all of the action happening in front of her. “I—I got into a fight with my dad.” 

“Oh. Where were you gonna go?” 

“This cave I—none of your business!” Mermista suddenly realized she didn’t want to share her secret cave with a stranger, let alone a boy. 

“Aw, come on! I brought you your earring, the least you could do is show me your cave!”

Mermista felt conflicted. He was right. He did save her from a buttload of trouble with her mom, and she was already going to be in a lot of trouble as it was. She squinted at something familiar behind him. Was that a castle guard? She didn’t have her glasses on her. 

But she probably should get out of such an open and well-lit space. 

“Okay,” she said to the boy and grabbed his wrist. “Come on! We gotta go!”

“Alright! Adventure!” He yelled. 

“Shhhhh!” Mermista hissed. 

They had been in the cave for about ten minutes, and Mermista was relieved to get off of her ankle. They sat on cushions she’d managed to sneak out of the castle and he didn’t stop talking and asking questions the entire time. 

“Oh, by the way, Princess, what’s your name? Feels kind of weird just calling you Princess.”

“Mermista.” 

“I’m Sea Hawk!”

Mermista laughed. “What kind of name is Sea Hawk?”

Sea Hawk beamed at her. “It’s a pirate’s name, of course!”

Mermista looked him up and down. He had messy purple hair tied back with a black bandana, dark eyes and the same kinds of clothes she usually saw on sailors and castle staff when they were dressed casually. His skin was sun kissed and freckled. 

“You don’t look like a pirate,” she finally said. 

“Well I’m not one, yet, but I will be someday!” 

“I didn’t realize people could, like, become pirates,” Mermista said. “I thought you were, like, born one.”

“Well, my dad’s a retired-pirate-turned-fisherman, and I help him out on the boat a lot, but he’s friends with loads of them and pirates just seem to have so much more fun!” 

“You work with your dad?” Mermista was dumbfounded. Her dad would never. “What’s he like?”

“He’s the coolest person ever!” Sea Hawk noticed Mermista flinch at those words, and his voice softened. “You said earlier that you got into a fight with your dad? What happened?” 

Mermista pulled her knees to her chest. “He told me not to use my powers at my birthday dinner and I didn’t listen, so he yelled at me in front of everyone and sent me to my room.” 

Sea Hawk perked up. “It’s your birthday?” 

Mermista nodded. 

“Why didn’t you say anything! How old are you today?”

“Nine.” 

Sea Hawk scrambled to his feet. “Stay here, okay? I’ll be right back!” 

“Um, okay…” 

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Mermista began to get nervous. It was kind of scary in the cave by herself at night. She had a lamp so she could see everything, but the roaring of the waterfall made it so that she couldn’t hear if someone tried to sneak up on her. And she was getting cold, her damp shoes and the slight spray from the waterfall weren’t making it any better. 

And then he was back, holding a small box wrapped with twine tied into a very intricate knot. He handed it over to her. “Here. Happy Birthday, Mermista!” 

She set the box carefully in her lap and he kneeled next to her as she untied the knot. He looked almost as excited as she felt inside to open it. She didn’t even know why—Sea Hawk was practically a stranger, after all. He didn’t know what she liked or what she was into. She just had a feeling it was going to be good. 

Her face broke into a huge smile. In the box was a cupcake, with light blue icing and rainbow sprinkles. The icing was a little smeared and melted, but it still looked delicious. She realized Sea Hawk had a similar colored smudge on his shirt.

A tear rolled off of her face and dropped onto the cardboard, darkening it. She sniffled and wiped it away. 

“Did I—did I do something wrong, Princess?”

“No, it’s perfect. Come on, let’s share it.” Mermista opened the box so it was flat and started to break the cupcake in half. 

“No no, it’s your birthday, it’s yours.” 

“My mama always told me that birthdays are for sharing with friends and family. We gotta share it.” 

Sea Hawk smiled at her, taking the cupcake. “Thank you.”

They ate together. Mermista licked icing off of her fingers. “That was so yummy! Where did you get it so late?”

“A pirate never tells his secrets!” 

“If you tell me, you can come to my birthday party next year!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Well, truth is, I might have stolen it from the bakery when the baker was busy.”

“You mean we ate a contraband cupcake? Sea Hawk!”

“Well I don’t have any money!” 

“Maybe you are going to be a pirate.” 

“You really think so?! Wanna see my sword skills?!”

“You don’t even have a sword!”


	3. Thirteen

“I think--I think--it was the butler!”

“Blaming the butler, huh? That’s  _ exactly _ what the murderer would do!” Mermista shouted excitedly, jabbing a finger at Perfuma. They sat in a circle on the floor of Mermista’s bedroom. Nearly all of the furniture other than her bed had been arranged so that she, Perfuma, the two younger Star Sisters, Celeste and Nova, and Meranda, Mermista’s cousin, could all sleep on the floor in a massive pile of pillows and blankets that they had arranged themselves. Right now they were all sitting in a circle, riding on sugar highs from cake and ice cream and sodas, playing a game Mermista had made up based on her favorite mystery novels. 

Thirteen was turning out to be one of Mermista’s best birthdays, yet.

Perfuma gasped. “No! I’d never hurt anyone!” A few seconds later, the blonde yelped and tightened her blanket around her as a flash of lightning lit up the room for just seconds before thunder roared outside. It had been storming for most of the afternoon and into the night. Mermista tried not to show how disappointed she was that her timing with the pointing was off. 

“Well, everyone else has an alibi,” Mermista said, sitting back on her calves and crossing her arms with a smirk. The piece of paper she was reading off of was clutched, crumpled, in one of her hands. She had it memorized. “So what’s yours?” 

“I told you, I was in the kitchen! The murder happened in the study!” 

“You can’t have been in the kitchen,  _ I _ was in the kitchen,” Meranda pointed out, flipping her silky, ink black hair over a shoulder. She was older than Mermista by just a few months. Mermista wasn’t sure exactly how far back in her family they were cousins because her mom was an only child and Meranda looked almost nothing like her, but they were close all the same. 

“Wait, I thought you were on the balcony,” Mermista asked, dropping her narrator’s voice and uncrumpling the paper to look. 

“No, that was me,” Nova said. 

“Well, I was in the library,” Celeste said, sounding almost bored. She was the oldest of the group, about to turn fifteen. She only came because Nova, who had just turned twelve, was scared to spend the night by herself away from home. Mermista was cool and all, she just didn’t want to spend the night with all of these kids. 

“Which means that the  _ only _ room without an eyewitness to say that you  _ weren’t _ in it was the study!” Meranda tried to pick up the drama while Mermista scanned the paper she had very carefully handwritten her plans on. 

Ah, stars, she’d definitely put both Perfuma and Meranda in the same place but didn’t tell them that the other was there! There really  _ was _ no murderer! She chewed on her lip. Perfuma and Meranda were arguing back and forth while Nova tried to mediate and Celeste sat back and watched the drama with a smirk. There was a body, they had narrowed down all of the options to figure out the weapon (a very sharp letter opener shaped like a cutlass, which Mermista had nabbed from her dad’s study the night before), but no murderer! 

Mermista was smart, though, and quick on her feet. And she knew she had a willing player sitting casually on the couch just outside of her room in the hallway, reading a book quietly, waiting to hear if they needed anything. As cliche as it was, it was gonna have to be the butler this time. 

“Okay, okay!” Mermista shouted, and as she scrambled to her feet and pointed excitedly towards the ceiling, lightning flashed again and a loud crash of thunder boomed through the castle. It made the whole room vibrate. A smile spread across Mermista’s face. The timing was impeccable. “The plot thickens. If we have ruled out everyone inside this room--the murderer must still be at large somewhere in the castle!”

Everyone gasped, then thunder crashed again outside. It was beautiful. 

Suddenly, though, a loud bang that was definitely  _ not _ thunder came from the balcony, then the locked balcony doors started shaking. Perfuma yelped, Nova jumped into Celeste’s lap, and Meranda hid behind Mermista who had immediately crouched down to the floor and yanked her own blanket over her head. 

“What was that?” Meranda whispered, then everyone gasped as the doors began to shake again. Mermista looked back at her cousins, then grabbed the letter opener.

“Grab a weapon in case we need to defend ourselves!” She whisper-yelled. 

“Wait, give me the letter opener,” Meranda hissed. “You have  _ magic _ .” Mermista rolled her eyes, but handed it over to her cousin. Her heart was beating so fast, adrenaline was rushing through her as they approached the door. It shook again, causing her to back up into Meranda, who clutched her arm. She was shaking a little. 

As she put her hand on the doorknob, ready to turn the lock, she looked back at her friends. Perfuma stood farthest back, looking terrified with wide eyes and her knuckles white as she clutched her blanket around her. Nova was hanging onto Celeste for dear life, and Meranda was holding the sword like she was going to stab someone. That would have to do. Mermista slowly clicked the lock and the door were immediately ripped open, the person on the balcony stepping back, clearly surprised. 

“Sea Hawk!?” Mermista exclaimed, in the exact moment a huge vine came out of nowhere and hit the back of his head. Mermista watched in slow motion as his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor in a wet heap. 

“Oh no!” Perfuma said, rushing to his side. “Oh no! I didn’t mean it, Sea Hawk!” Mermista pushed his shoulder, rolling him over onto his back. He squeezed his eyes shut and a hand flew up to the side of his head as he groaned. 

His dark eyes fluttered open, and a big, dumb grin spread across his face. “Hey, Princess,” he said sitting up and looking right at Mermista. “Happy Birthday.” His voice cracked on the last syllable.

Mermista giggled, because he looked and sounded absolutely ridiculous as she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet and inside the bedroom, and Meranda closed the balcony door after him. He was soaking wet. Mermista did her best to get most of the water off of him, but she wasn’t, like, an expert at it yet and didn’t want to accidentally rip his clothes off or anything. 

“What are you doing here? I told you my dad said you weren’t allowed to any of my birthday parties after last year’s incident,” Mermista asked. “Plus, he said I couldn’t have  _ any _ boys at the sleepover.” There was no bite in her voice--she wouldn’t say it to his face but this party would have been even more fun with Sea Hawk there. 

“Pfft, that wasn’t going to stop me from seeing you on your birthday! The storm almost did, though. I almost fell climbing up the wall to your balcony, it’s very slippery. You should get it checked out.” 

“I’ll ask them to install some stairs just for you,” Mermista laughed. 

“You really think they’d do that?!”

“They absolutely would  _ not _ do that, you dummy.” She tilted her head to the side, studying his face. It had been a few months since they’d last seen each other--she thought it might have been the week after his own fifteenth birthday, because he wasn’t in Salineas for it and it wasn’t like her dad was going to let her go to Snows just to see him. Her dad made it  _ very _ clear he didn’t think Sea Hawk was a good choice of friends for Mermista.

”Why are you looking at me like that?” Sea Hawk asked. 

Mermista leaned towards him, brows still furrowed. Suddenly, she reached out and wiped the space under his nose with her thumb. “You have dirt on your face.”

“It’s not dirt!” His voice cracked again. “It’s a mustache!” He put a hand up to it and stroked it gently with his thumb and forefinger, flattening out the patchy, wispy hairs. 

Mermista nearly fell over laughing. “You call  _ that _ a mustache? I have more hair on my arms!”

Sea Hawk frowned, a face she didn’t see very often and it made her immediately regret picking on him. “I’m just kidding,” she said. “It looks fine. It’s just, like, kinda dark in here.” 

“I think it looks nice,” Celeste piped up from behind her. Perfuma nodded in agreement.

“Yeah,” Meranda said, digging through her brain for anything relevant Mermista might have mentioned about Sea Hawk since this was only her second time meeting him, and the last time she met him he was being dragged out of the castle by two guards. “In like, a… pirate sort of way?” 

Sea Hawk was beaming now, clearly loving the girls’ attention. Mermista rolled her eyes. 

“Well, since you’re already here, I guess you can join the sleepover. But you gotta leave before breakfast and my dad  _ cannot _ find out,” Mermista said, making it clear that that last instruction was for everybody in the room. She looked Sea Hawk over--he was wearing his normal sailing clothes, and didn’t have a bag on him. “You didn’t bring any clothes, did you?” 

“Nope. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get this far,” Sea Hawk said, still glowing. 

“Ughhhhh,” Mermista groaned. “I  _ suppose _ you can wear something of mine. But you gotta let me paint your nails, too.”

“Anything you want to do to me, Princess, I’m down for it.”

“Whatever, weirdo.”

They never did find out the identity of the murderer, or about Mermista's dire mistake. 


	4. Seventeen

“Princess? Your breakfast is getting cold,” the butler said in a softer voice than usual. The chef had made all of Mermista’s favorites for her seventeenth birthday--french toast with sliced roasted bananas and chocolate chips with a chocolate hazelnut smoothie. A huge, gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a card signed by the whole staff were presented to her when she came into the dining hall for breakfast. 

Her father’s smoked salmon eggs benedict sat in front of his empty seat, untouched. The habit of not touching her food until her father took his first bite had been instilled in her since early childhood. 

“Do you think he overslept?” Mermista asked out loud. She was nervously picking at her cuticles now. “He never sleeps in, maybe he’s sick?”

“The palace doctor has not been by today, but I am not sure,’ the butler replied. After a moment, he added: “Excuse me if I am overstepping, Princess, but I think you should eat without him.” 

“No, you’re probably right,” Mermista sighed. She ate in silence, then excused herself to no one in particular. She returned to her bedroom and climbed back into her bed, figuring that this was probably the only day of the year she could get away with being in bed this late. Her communication pad had lots of notifications--a video from Perfuma wishing her a happy birthday, messages from her other friends saying the same. 

She reread the most recent Mer-Mysteries novel, “The Pearl Who Knew Too Much”.

Around noon, a knock came to her door and she perked up. “Come in,” she called. Maybe he _had_ overslept. The door opened and Mermista deflated when she saw it was just the butler, but he had a cart with several letters and packages on it, birthday gifts and more well wishes from her friends and family. 

Shortly after her mother died, most of Mermista’s family and local friends had moved away from Salineas. Even though Mermista was immediately granted the full power of the Pearl, she still wasn’t quite strong enough to fully protect the Sea Gate if they had a similar attack. Traveling by land or sea was dangerous these days because of the Horde, so this wasn’t her first birthday with little to no guests. She thought maybe Sea Hawk would have come by, but he still had plenty of time and was late to nearly everything. 

Mermista helped the butler unload the cart onto her bed, even though he insisted she shouldn’t multiple times. She was just so _bored_ and _anxious,_ having something to do was better than nothing. 

Perfuma had sent a vase of beautiful blue and orange flowers, with a note saying they were enchanted so they would never wilt or die, “just like our friendship!” From Peekablu: a new leather-bound journal like he did every year, with a handwritten note in the inside cover that says: “My farsight predicts that this year will be most challenging, but most rewarding yet! Happy Birthday, Princess Mermista!”

Her father’s sister created a care package with some of her favorite snacks and some makeup from Mystacor, and a photograph she had never seen before of herself and her parents from their first Princess Prom together. She was just a baby, and her parents looked genuinely happy. Her grandparents from her dad’s side sent some color-shifting nail polish and the first three books of “The Sorcerer’s Secrets”, a new series of mystery novels from Mystacor they thought she’d enjoy. 

Her mom’s dad sent a bottle of her favorite perfume wrapped in several pairs of the soft, thick socks she loved. He didn’t include a note, or remember to write his name on the package, but she knew it was from him all the same—he got her the same thing every year. Even when her tastes changed he always got it right, so she was pretty sure one of the butlers or guards kept him up to date. Her mom’s cousins sent a beautiful new saree and matching lehenga choli in her favorite colors and some treats from their hometown, Aquiri, which was settled between Salineas and Snows. 

After trying on her gifts and getting ready for the rest of the day, Mermista decided that it was time to finally go see what was going on with her father. 

She paced anxiously outside his bedroom door for about fifteen minutes, before working up the nerve to knock. He didn’t answer. She knocked again after a few moments, louder this time. After a third round of knocking, she gave him a few more minutes before slowly pulling on the door and poking her head in. 

His room was empty. Mermista slipped into the room, letting the door shut behind her with a quiet click. Everything looked pretty much the same as it did the last time she was in her parents’ bedroom, when her mom was still alive. The bed was made, and something on the pillow caught her attention. She rushed over to the bed, finding her father’s trident with a bow haphazardly placed on top of it and a note. 

_Mermista --_

_Now that you’re of age, you are now officially able to take over as the ruler of Salineas. The Queen Angella of Bright Moon has advised me she is willing to help if you need assistance in regards to leadership. If you need to get in contact with her, I have left instructions with the head butler._

_I have decided to travel the world since my presence is no longer needed in Salineas. I have left behind my trident as an act of goodwill. You should find it useful in combination with your water powers._

_Good Luck,_

_Mercia Salinean_

Mermista sat down on the ornate navy blue and gold bedspread, reading the letter over and over again. Her head was spinning, thoughts going by a thousand miles an hour. 

Her coronation wasn’t supposed to be until next week. How long had he been planning this? If it wasn’t until today, well, ships took a while to prepare, maybe… maybe she could convince him to stop. 

She gripped the trident in her hand, dropping the letter on the floor as she rushed out of the room. She ignored the butler and both of the guards who tried to speak with her as she ran by them, breaking into a full sprint as she ran down to the marina. 

She already knew that she could see his favorite ship’s masts and sails from the castle grounds if it was docked where it usually was, but she ran to the docks anyway, nearly crashing into several workers on her way. She didn’t realize she had hot, angry tears running down her face until she was already at the end of the dock, staring at open water where the ship usually was. 

How could he?

The trident clattered to the ground as Mermista sank to her knees. She buried her face in her hands, ugly sobs emerging from her throat. She didn’t hear the sound of squelching, wet boots hitting the wood, but she did feel a pair of cold, wet arms wrap around her, smelling like sea salt and woodsmoke and a smell she’d just always thought of as ‘ _boy’_. 

“Misty, Princess, what’s wrong?” 

Mermista immediately turned to bury her face in Sea Hawk’s chest, nearly causing them both to fall backwards onto the dock. “He fucking _left_ ,” she choked out, ignoring his soaked shirt.

“Who left-- _oh._ ” Sea Hawk’s voice went from confused and concerned to hard instantly. He’d never liked Mermista’s father, and they had a rule that they just didn’t talk about him, ever. He was always an asshole to Sea Hawk, but even worse, he treated Mermista like garbage. Even after her mom died, when her family began to move away--when she needed him most--he pushed her away. She didn’t tell Sea Hawk any of this, but he knew. 

“How could he _do_ that?” Mermista continued. Sea Hawk was smart enough to know to bite his tongue and not answer that question, that Mermista wasn’t waiting for him to tell her that it was because he was a heartless asshole, a worthless piece of shit that didn’t deserve her love. Instead, he did something rare--he kept his mouth shut. He hugged Mermista tighter, rubbing soft circles on her back until her sobs melted into soft whimpers. 

When she pulled back, sitting back on her butt and wiping her eyes, she suddenly realized. “Wait, what are you doing here, Sea Hawk? You said you didn’t think you were going to make it in time. And why are you all wet?” 

“You believed that? I wouldn’t miss your birthday, Misty!” Sea Hawk grinned. “We actually just arrived, but I thought I saw you running and wanted to make sure you were okay, so I jumped off the ship and swam to the docks.” He stood up and held out a hand to help her up. Mermista grabbed the trident and let him pull her to her feet, then he pulled her into a proper hug.

“Stars, you’re such a dumbass,” Mermista laughed, shaking her head.

“Take pity on a dumbass and dry me off?” Sea Hawk asked sheepishly. 

She stepped back and, with a wave of her hand, pulled the water from both of their clothes and dumped it back into the sea.

“Princess... I know there isn’t anything I can do to make this better, but I’m here if you need me.” Sea Hawk’s dark eyes were wide and honest as he pushed his hair out of his face.

Mermista nodded. “Yeah. I know. Thanks, Sea Hawk.” She straightened her posture, put on a brave face even though she knew her eyes were probably like, super swollen and her whole face was red and sticky from snot and tears. She probably looked like a mess. 

Whatever, it was just Sea Hawk, anyways. Sea Hawk, she was now getting a better look at, whose shoulders were broader and his shirt more filled out than the last time she’d seen him. His voice seemed deeper, too, his hair a little longer and that dumb mustache was properly full now. He was biting his lip now, his head cocked slightly to the side, his telltale sign of nervousness. Was her heart beating faster?

“Wanna come up to the castle?” Mermista asked, suddenly feeling shy. 

“Sure!” He agreed immediately. 

“Do you need to help your cr--”

“Nah, they’ll be fine.” 

* * *

“But you know what, Sea Hawk? What _ever_. If he doesn’t want to be part of my life, he can just fuck right off. I don’t need him. I can handle this on my own.” They were sitting on Mermista’s bed, each with a carton of ice cream in their laps, and Mermista had been talking between bites for the last hour or so. She’d washed her face, changed into a pair of leggings and a kurta, and thrown her hair into a ponytail. 

Mermista sighed as she scraped the last bit of ice cream from the bottom of her container. “I wish I could just make every trace of him disappear, you know?” 

That was when Sea Hawk got an idea. “You know… I could help you do that.” 

Ten minutes later, they were in her parents room, their balcony doors thrown wide open. To Mermista’s surprise, he didn’t take much of anything with him--all of the photo albums, all of his books and music, his clothes, they were still exactly where she was used to them being. 

“Okay, so, like, if it looks super old, or, I don’t know, like an antique or heirloom, let me see it before you toss it over. I don’t want to get, like, cursed or haunted because we burned my great-great grandpa’s robes or anything,” Mermista said as they started tearing clothes off of the hangers in the closet. She was glad he kept a separate closet from her mom--she didn’t think she could handle seeing her mom’s clothes right now. 

“Got it,” Sea Hawk said gleefully, taking a pile of robes and clothes to the balcony and tossing them over the rail. They fell onto the lawn from the third story with a satisfying _plop_.

It took a while to get everything of his out of the bedroom. He had a study, too, but Mermista said they could tackle it another time. At some point, a guard ran into the room shouting, but quickly exited the room when they saw the fire in Mermista’s eyes. The butler got involved, too. He had gone into the bedroom after seeing the door uncharacteristically open, and found the letter on the floor. He didn’t show it, but he was just as mad as Mermista was. After watching her dad treat her the way he had for seventeen years, only to up and leave just like that? He was livid. So he helped keep the pile compact and stopped it from spreading across the lawn. 

“Now, all we need to do is take those sheets and make a rope to use and rappel down to the castle grounds,” Sea Hawk said excitedly once Mermista had announced they’d gotten everything. 

“Or… we could just use the stairs and the door?” Mermista gave him a funny look. 

“Oh, right, or we could do that,” Sea Hawk repeated. “Oh, actually, we need to stop by the kitchen, first.” 

“Why the kitchen?”

“You’ll see!” 

If there was one thing the castle had plenty of, it was alcohol. It was like walking into a pub, or a liquor store. Sea Hawk was in awe, staring at all of the bottles and their labels. So many names he didn’t know. And one name he did -- Aqui Esta, which sounded fancy but was just a very high alcohol content cheap vodka normally used for cooking or cocktails. He grabbed two off the shelf and they headed towards the pile. 

He looked like an excited little kid as he ran around the pile, dousing it in the alcohol. When he returned to Mermista’s side, he pulled a box of matches from his pocket and pressed it into Mermista’s hand.

“You can do it,” she said, holding them back out to him. She looked nervous. She’d never started a fire before. She’d put out a few of Sea Hawk’s, and there were nearby fountains she could pull from if something happened, but she’d never _started_ one. 

Sea Hawk shook his head. “It’s gotta be you, Misty.” 

“O-okay.” Mermista swallowed the lump in her throat, took out a match, and approached the alcohol-soaked pile of her father’s clothes and belongings. It took her a few strikes to get the first match to burn, and she held it between her thumb and index finger for a few moments before letting it burn out. 

Sea Hawk stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “Take as long as you need, Princess.” 

Mermista nodded, and after a few moments it was like something fell into place within her. The next match caught fire on the first strike, and she tossed it into the pile. 

As the pile burst into flames, Sea Hawk shouted, “Birthday Adventure!”

They turned and ran away from the combustion. Someone ended up tripping, and they both fell on top of each other in the grass several yards away, but Mermista was laughing. Then Sea Hawk was laughing, both of them in tears now--but the good kind, this time.

“Thanks, Sebastian,” Mermista said after the laughter had died down. They were still laying in the grass, on their sides now, facing each other. Sea Hawk had grass clippings in his hair, and one stuck in his mustache. His dark eyes were all crinkly from smiling, and his lips looked way too soft and pink. He’d been offering to kiss her for years, using kisses as tokens in bets, even tried to trap her under mistletoe last year. Now she had forgotten why she’d resisted it for all that time.

“Happy Birthday, Mermista,” he said. 

Instead of replying, she reached out to brush the grass clipping from his mustache, then took his face in her hand and kissed him for the first time.


End file.
